A version of this commentary appeared in the National Post, Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun Sleep doesn’t come easy as we age. Take Ilsa; she is a 78-year-old recent widow. Since her husband passed away, she has slept poorly. A recent hospitalization and the disorienting bright lights and noises of the inpatient ward made her […]
It is estimated that around 700,000 deaths occur annually as a result of infections by resistant bacteria – known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Without effective approaches to combat AMR, it is projected that by the year 2050, the rate could reach as high as 10 million deaths per year. From an economic standpoint, AMR is […]
Inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications — drugs like Risperdal, Zyprexa and Abilify — to seniors, especially those in long-term care with conditions like dementia, has been a hot topic of discussion across Canada in recent years. We have also increasingly heard about the high numbers of these medications being prescribed to children and youth with […]
Une version de ce commentaire est parue dans Le Soleil Voici un des faits sans doute des plus surprenants : l’accouchement est la principale cause d’hospitalisation chez les Canadiennes année après année. Plus de 350 000 bébés sont nés dans les hôpitaux canadiens l’an dernier, et l’intervention chirurgicale la plus fréquente dans les hôpitaux est l’accouchement par césarienne : on en […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Toronto Star, Canadian Healthcare Network and the Winnipeg Free Press Here is, perhaps, a surprising fact: Birth is the most common reason that Canadian women are hospitalized each year. There were over 350,000 babies born in hospitals across the country last year. And the most common in-hospital […]
How we can improve patient outcomes and stop wasting health care resources in the process A version of this commentary appeared in the CBC News, the Huffington Post and the Victoria Times Colonist Each year, there are at least one million unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures done in Canadian health care settings. This means that […]
A call to the emergency room announced that the ambulance was on its way. Joey, a middle-aged oilfield worker, was experiencing a suspected toxic ingestion of the opioid, fentanyl.
Four years ago, at age 84, my dad survived a severe stroke. The downside is that during his hospital stay this otherwise fit person was put on a drug regimen and has been taking nine prescription drugs a day ever since.
Hundreds of codeine tablets stolen from the medicine cabinet of an elderly person living alone in a rural community. Hydromorphone tablets being distributed at weddings and high school parties. Fentanyl patches being cut up and sold for a profit on the street. This is the reality of the opioid crisis in Canada today
If you knew that virtually the entire medical community was talking about an issue causing risk and harm to patients across the country, wouldn’t you want to know what it is and take part in the conversation?
